Sir Nathaniel Curzon, 1st Baron Scarsdale (1726-1804) came from a family with a
long tradition in politics. His father Sir Nathaniel Curzon, 4th Baronet (1676-1758)
and his uncle Sir John Curzon, 3rd Baronet (1674-1727) had been members of the
parliament representing Derbyshire which meant that also the future Baron Scarsdale went into politics.51 He was a Tory and became a member of parliament
for Clitheroe in 1748. He continued till 1754 when he started to represent
Derbyshire.52 When his father died in November 1758 he inherited his estate at
Kedleston in Derbyshire, an income of £10,000 a year and a red-brick house from 1700. Shortly after that he started the designing process for Kedleston Hall. The new estate should establish him as a Tory opponent to the Whig Dukes of Devonshire at Chatsworth. The plan succeeded and Sir Nathaniel Curzon, 5th
Baronet turned into the 1st Baron Scarsdale in 1761. The title was taken over by
his son Nathaniel after his death in 1804.53
Kedleston Hall (Fig. 18) is not the work of one single person. Four architects were involved in the designing process: James Stuart (1713-1788), Matthew Brettingham the Elder, James Paine (1717-1789) and Robert Adam (1728-1792). The very first ideas to build something new at Kedleston already date back to 1756
and 1757. 1st Baron Scarsdale had bought a large number of statues, busts and
51 Brydges 1812, vol. VII, p. 299. 52 Aspinall 1968, vol. IV, p. 75 (n. 4). 53 Worsley 1995, p. 228-229.
paintings for which he needed a proper place to present them. At first he considered just to remodel the already existing house and commissioned three architects to present their ideas in 1757 or 1758: one unidentified architect, James Stuart and Matthew Brettingham the Elder. They were supposed to design a two- storey entrance hall and a gallery. But after 1st Baron Scarsdale succeeded his
father in November 1758 he dropped the idea and decided to build a completely new estate instead.54
Brettingham was hired and he started designing the building. Only a few months later 1st Baron Scarsdale met Robert Adam for the first time. He hired him
for the design of the garden and its follies and bridges. According to Adam, Scarsdale was very impressed by his work and regretted that he was already working with Brettingham. Adam might have even recommended some alterations of Brettingham’s plans. In 1759 first the eastern part of the existing house was demolished and construction on the north-east wing – the family pavilion – started. Before the end of the year Brettingham left and James Paine took over. He executed Brettingham’s plans but also made some changes. The main one was the addition of a circular room protruding out of the main box
covered with a dome and surrounded by tall columns.55 Those plans were never
executed but only presented in an exhibition at the Society of Arts in 1761. They only survived in Paine’s publication Plans, elevations and sections of Noblemen and Gentlemen’s Houses (1783).56 Although some of the drawings are dated 1759
they were only made shortly before the book was published. Therefore some historians assumed that Paine only published the drawings in order to show everyone that he could have outshone Adam. Eileen Harris remarked that the two architects still worked together afterwards till March or April 1761 which was not unusual at that time. So it seems unlikely that Paine only wanted to prove that
he was superior to Adam.57 By 1759 Adam had already started working on the
interior designs. The following summer he even delivered designs for the house
54 Harris 2001, p. 19, 21. 55 Harris 2001, p. 21. 56 Leach 1997, p. 159. 57 Harris 1999, p. 344, 347.
itself and slowly started to replace Paine.58 By 1760 he had produced a plan that
kept the rotunda but was more economic. He put the circular room into a square. Paine continued to work at Kedleston Hall till 1761 when Adam took over as ‘Surveyor of the main body of his Lordship’s house’ eventually. The family and the kitchen wing had already been finished by then so they were not Adam’s responsibility.59 The structural construction was finished in 1765. The southern
wings and the connecting quadrant corridors were never built. Work on the interior continued for another 15 years.60
Fig. 19: James Stuart/Matthew Brettingham the Elder/James Paine/Robert Adam, Floor plan of the main floor of Kedleston Hall, 1759
Kedleston Hall (Fig. 19) consists of a rectangular main building and two rectangular wings on the north façade. The wings are connected to the main block on the north-east and north-west corner of the building with quadrant corridors. Therefore they are not in line with the main building but in front of it, creating an open courtyard in front of the north façade. The visitors approach the house from
58 Leach 1997, p. 159. 59 Harris 2001, p. 21-22. 60 Leach 1997, p. 159.
this side, take the outside stairs up to the main floor and enter the estate underneath the portico into the Great Hall. The garden can be reached by exiting the Saloon onto the staircases on the south façade.
The north façade consists of five main sections: the main building, the two quadrant corridors and the wing buildings. The layers of the different building sections are similar to the ones at Holkham Hall. The main building and the wings have three layers – the basement, the main floor and the roof zone – while the corridors only have two. Also the main floor of the main building is higher than the one of the wings making the main building itself higher than all the adjacent ones (Fig. 20). Therefore the main focus once more is on the main building. This is even further emphasized once the visitors stand in the courtyard. The wings and the corridors are standing behind the spectators and the only part visible to them is the main building. Just like at Holkham Hall the wings are subordinate. Their main function is to protract the façade and emphasize the horizontality of the building.
Fig. 20: The different layer structures of the north façade of the main building and the wings of Kedleston Hall
The north façade of the main building itself can be divided into three main sections: the portico and the adjacent right and left section of the main building. The portico is not flat but the pillars are moved to the front end of the terrace. Therefore the façade becomes more three-dimensional. This is even more enhanced by the position of the wing buildings; the quadrant corridors place them in front of the main building, creating a more dynamic and three-dimensional façade. The portico is a hexastyle which leads to five (window) bays being distributed between the six pillars and six pilasters along the back wall of the terrace. Additional three more window bays – a total of six – can be found in the left and the right section. Those bays are identical in design. The only exception is
the additional window on the ground floor which is only possible because there are no stairs in this area. Therefore the main building could be extended almost indefinitely which furthermore emphasizes the horizontality of the façade. This is even further reinforced with the repetitiveness of the window bays in the quadrant corridors.
There is only one central entrance perforating the back wall of the portico; niches with sculptures are arranged along the other four bays. At the same time there is another perforated layer; the front of the portico with its pillars and the five arched entrances underneath them. The back walls of the terrace and the arcade are still visible through the perforated layer which gives the section of the portico more depth. Therefore the façade becomes more three-dimensional. This three-dimensionality is even further emphasized by the quadrant corridors. They position the wings in front of the main building, a courtyard is created and the building becomes more three-dimensional.
On the south façade (Fig. 21) of the main building there are no additional wings and the wings from the north façade are also not apparent thanks to the quadrant corridors. They retreat into the background and the main building becomes the sole focus of the spectators. Therefore the façade becomes more flat in comparison to the north side. This is partially emphasized by the omission of a portico. The terrace is shorter which means that the four columns move closer to the four pilasters along the main wall. They are so close that they are not perceived as two single items but as a piece of wall sticking out of the main façade. These apparent “wall pieces” make the central section more three-dimensional again. This is further emphasized by the two semi-circular stairs in front of the terrace and the central section which is an avant-corps. The central section is reaching out of the main building block and invites the visitors into the building. In contrast, the wings on the north façade create a courtyard, enclosing the visitors and in this way welcoming them into the building.
Fig. 21: James Stuart/Matthew Brettingham the Elder/James Paine/Robert Adam, South façade of the main building of Kedleston Hall, 1759
References for the main building of Kedleston Hall are less clear than the ones for the wings. The same horizontal – a central portico with a tetrastyle and one additional window bay one each side of it – and vertical – a base, a main floor with two rows of windows and a roof zone including the gable – structure of the wings can be found in the Villa Emo. Therefore those wings are in line with the tradition of the Neo-Palladian estates in the early 18th century. A similar structure but on
a different scale was used for the main building; a hexastyle instead of a tetrastyle and three instead of one window bay on each side of the portico. This greater scale can also be found in the main building of Holkham Hall (Fig. 1). The later one has additional towers. By omitting them at Kedleston Hall the architect turned the building from a great house back into a traditional villa – reminiscent of the architecture of the early 18th century – but on a greater scale.61 At the same time,
with the addition of the wing and the reference to Holkham Hall, the building shows a connection to the mid-18th century.
Fig. 22: (left) Three-stripes-structure of the floor plan of the main floor of Kedleston Hall Fig. 23: (right) Five-stripes-structure of the floor plan of the main floor of Hagley Hall
The Hall and the Saloon create the central one of the three stripes of the floor plan of the main building. Both are as wide as the whole stripe and are the main – and also the biggest – rooms of the whole floor plan. The adjacent stripes are approximately of the same width as the central one but they are more divided. On first glance this three-stripes-structure (Fig. 22) seems to be different from the five-stripes-structure of Holkham Hall (Fig. 9) and Hagley Hall (Fig. 23). Kedleston Hall though might just refer to the same building that both are quoting: Villa Thiene in Cicogna (Fig. 7) by Palladio. All three buildings have larger rooms in the central stripe and the wings are connected with quadrant corridors. Adam also only gradually adapted the others stripes of the main building. He simply merged the two stripes together by eliminating or moving some parts of the dividing walls between the stripes while still keeping the original proportions. Unlike Miller at Hagley Hall Adam did not turn the staircases around to create a wider stripe and therefore a wider façade. He also chose a slimmer three-stripes- instead of a five-stripes-structure. Therefore he had to focus on the wings to elongate the façade. His solution were the quadrant corridors that positioned the wing buildings even further away from the main building. This way the north façade appears immediately wider with little effort and costs involved.
The Hall and the Saloon are the rooms that visitors first see when they enter Kedleston Hall. On the north façade the visitors enter the Hall (Fig. 24), a rectangular vaulted room stretching over the main and the mezzanine floor with two rows of pillars. The space is grand with heavy decoration. The visitors do not feel welcome but should be intimidated and overwhelmed by the dimensions but also the pomposity of the room. The space in the middle remains open and the few pieces of furniture – a few benches without any backrests – are moved between the pillars next to the wall. The visitors are not invited to stay, sit on one of the benches and converse with other people. In contrast, they should concentrate on the richness of the room and therefore on the wealth of the owner of the estate. They should be intimidated and in awe at the same time.
Fig. 25: (left) James Stuart/Matthew Brettingham the Elder/James Paine/Robert Adam, Saloon of Kedleston Hall, 1759
Fig. 26: (right) James Stuart/Matthew Brettingham the Elder/James Paine/Robert Adam, Dome of the Saloon of Kedleston Hall, 1759
On the south façade the visitors enter the Saloon (Fig. 25) which is a circular room with four niches in the corners and a dome. A similar approach of creating feelings of intimidation and awe can be seen here. The floor space of the Saloon is smaller than the one of the Hall. This is compensated with a higher ceiling. So the visitors are supposed to be intimidated by the height of the room which is even further emphasized by the oculi in the coffered dome (Fig. 26). This combination – an oculi and coffering – seems to refer to the Pantheon (c. 125-128 AD) in Rome. The building and therefore also the owner are now connected to one of the most iconic buildings of the Antiquity. It emphasizes the owner’s importance and presents him as a well-educated and sophisticated person. This is further reinforced when one looks at the details. The floral elements in the coffers on the ceiling can also be found in the dome of Chiswick House (1720-1729). Also the pattern – a grid of diamonds – on the semi-domes of the niches is similar in both buildings. The whole Saloon is heavily decorated though less than the Hall. The furniture – benches and chairs – is put along the walls of the room opening up an
open space in the middle. Once more the visitors are invited to experience the room itself – its great dimension and the decoration – and to experience it by themselves. One should feel intimidated by the building but also by the owner of the mansion.
A different approach was chosen for the adjacent stripes. They are subordinate to the central one and the rooms also take over different functions. People are supposed to interact in those rooms: the library, the drawing room, the music room, the dining room, the state bedroom and the dressing room with the ante- room. They are more intimate and do not just want to intimidate the visitor. The furniture is moved from the walls to the center of the rooms which enables the people to interact with each other. The space wants to be used and not just looked at.